Things have become more challenging in the soft fruit industry, said Bart Jongeneelen of Delphy this morning at the opening of the International Soft Fruit Conference. Challenging weather circumstances, increased labor, and input costs. "Looking forward, things will become more challenging. It's up to the industry to take up these changes, as innovation will lead to a better, more sustainable industry."
It is the INTERNATIONAL Soft Fruit Conference after all. Phil Johnson and Herney Hernandez, Boem Berry Farms, Dominique Blok, Jakob Johannson, Ton Habraken, Svensson, Matthew Korpan with South Essex, Sam Soltani with Sollum Tech and Joris Vermonden with Svensson
The International Soft Fruit Conference is a two-day event, including a conference day and a field trip. The event takes place annually in January and is preceded by the Dutch Aardbeiendag, where 700 people unite to discuss developments in the Dutch market. Battling the energy crisis, switching to everbearers, the reputation of berries, and, of course, technical novelties.
How to grow strawberries year round? Vera Theelen with Delphy talked about year-round production under LED with fresh Junebearers
These topics are also discussed today, as most people believe techniques and innovation are needed for a stable soft fruit supply - and as Cindy with Rabobank emphasized that, availability is a big topic in the industry. Last year, this became clear in the blueberry market, but the pressure of weather and climate changes, increased input costs, stricter regulations on climate and sustainability, and low availability of resources such as land, water, and also labor affect blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries as well. She's convinced the challenges also provide opportunities, and her statistics show the developments in the industry lead to more cultivation in greenhouses. 'First, we saw the change leading from open field to substrate production. Now we see the transition being made to greenhouse production.'
Cindy van Rijswick with Rabobank updated the visitors on the global berry markets
Bart Jongeneelen opened the ISFC
During the rest of the day, several speakers showed their findings about the indoor growing of berries, and on the trade show, many solutions focusing on this transition could be found. Tomorrow, we'll publish a full photo report of the Aardbeiendag and the International Soft Fruit Conference.
